Director of airports Victor White, speaking at the June 2015 ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, is a finalist for a similar job in Fort Myers, Fla. File photoThe Wichita Eagle

Director of airports Victor White, speaking at the June 2015 ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, is a finalist for a similar job in Fort Myers, Fla. File photoThe Wichita Eagle

Victor White is finalist for Fort Myers, Fla., job

Victor White, who just passed his 11th anniversary as director of airports for the City of Wichita Airport Authority, is a finalist for a similar position in Fort Myers, Fla.

White is one of four finalists to be executive director of Lee County Port Authority, which includes Southwest Florida International Airport and Page Field, a general aviation airport.

In a statement, White said that he and his wife love Wichita, and he loves his job, “… and it’s very important to me that everyone here realize this opportunity is a once in a lifetime event for me, otherwise I wouldn’t even think about leaving Wichita.”

He wrote that he was recruited by a search firm.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for a free 30 day free trial of unlimited digital access.

“I’d had my eye on Fort Myers for over 20 years, so I let them put my name into the pile.”

White called the job “one of the top airport management jobs in the country.”

He says Southwest Florida International Airport has a larger terminal, staff and budget than Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. He says there are 12 airlines that serve almost 50 nonstop routes and international service to Canada and Germany.

During his more than 40-year career in airport management, the Fort Worth, Texas, native has worked in several states, including Texas, Utah, Illinois and Florida.

Before coming to Wichita, White was director of the Orlando Sanford International Airport.

One of White’s biggest tasks during his tenure in Wichita was overseeing the construction of the new Eisenhower airport terminal, which opened in 2015.

White says he likes his staff in Wichita and the city officials he works with and that “our successes have been amazing as a team.”

While he’s interested in the Fort Myers job, White wrote that “to be very candid about my chances at winning this thing, this is a very competitive group of candidates with tremendous credentials, so I’m just extremely honored and humbled to even be considered by the folks down there to be in that group of talented and experienced airport executives.”

He added, “From a strictly personal standpoint, we’d be closer to family in Florida, including a new grandson who’s just a couple of months old.”